


Sunday Opening

by drvology



Category: Eyewitness (US TV)
Genre: M/M, fic-a-month, my 2018 challenge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-01
Updated: 2018-12-01
Packaged: 2019-09-04 21:55:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,383
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16797802
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/drvology/pseuds/drvology
Summary: Almost done with school and ready to move back home.





	Sunday Opening

**Author's Note:**

> In the same 'universe' as my other Eyewitness fics, grouped together with the 'at the falls of the aniene river' collections link. || In 2018 I'm hoping to write 1 fic a month. This is 11/12. Fic for November.

A caterer slides past Philip and he grabs two wine glasses. On instinct he heads for the back door to the garden, weaving between groups of people standing in almost-touching bunches, has to stand a moment so his eyes adjust to the relative dark. He blinks, and then under the strings of Edison lights, he spots Lukas standing in the far corner.

The music isn't loud out here. It's loud inside, period, with the crowd and front door open to the street in addition to the music. Something techno but not pulsing, so it keeps the room lively without drowning attempts at conversation.

"Hey." Philip grins at Lukas. He's still so besotted, so completely in love, so completely complete. He holds out a glass. "This is nice."

Lukas takes the wine and finishes half in one gulp. He smiles on instinct—fixes on Philip and drinks in Philip's adoring look and everything Philip instead—grins hugely back.

"It's a sweet spot." Lukas catches his own pun and snickers. "Good view of everything from here." He shifts, reaches to tug Philip alongside him, and they stand together facing the glass wall of the gallery.

"I counted three red dots before escaping out here."

"Four, now."

"Four? That's like, rent for the next two months." Lukas tilts inward, kisses behind Philip's ear. "So proud of you."

"Yeah and you only won your division yesterday, so. Whatever."

Lukas laughs, relaxing with Philip beside him and the stars visible overhead. Philip lifts his glass—they clink and have a drink—and he follows it with a kiss of his own.

Philip snags their glasses and starts toward the door. Lukas snags his elbow but he slips free.

"I'll be right back," he promises and hurries his step.

He's good as his word. Returns with a tray this time. Two more drinks each, cheese and crackers and rolls of salami and ham, tiny cakes framed like art with tiny golden icing frames, and chunks of fruit speared with fancy toothpicks.

"Wooo, what's all this?" Lukas eats a tiny cake from Philip's offering fingers. Licks imaginary crumbs from Philip's palm.

"This is me not having any morning Monday classes and you not on shift until after lunch. And, your dad is staying with us and driving us home." Philip smiles over his drink and gets the tray onto the bench nearby.

He sits, pats beside him. Lukas sinks down, whole body contact the whole way, snuggles close.

"Oh yeah. Excellent." Lukas sips at a wine and nuzzles at Philip's temple and feeds them several cheese-on-crackers in a row. "But also ugh—Dad down the hall? Kinda the worst."

Philip snorts. "I know. But it's nice having him. Nice he wanted to, you know?"

Lukas is nodding, not really upset or put out. Inviting Bo to stay with them for this was Philip's idea.

Coming this far upstate to see it was Bo's.

Their place is great. They rent an entire house in an older Syracuse neighborhood, brick with real hardwood floors and a front porch and a back deck and cozy kitchen they eat in more often than the dining room, and a living room with huge chairs they sink into and watch movies or neck for hours. The upstairs is bedrooms, a bathroom with an old fashioned claw-foot tub they fuck in and flood the tiles all around, and their study space. Behind the house is a big garage, facing kind of an alley. Lukas keeps their bikes there, keeps their bikes in shape. Works on plans for his own shop. There's a fireplace for the long winters and they grow tomatoes and squash in the summer. The landlord allows them to have Kodak and to repaint after first moving in—earth tones and dark blue and reminding them of the landscape and river they walk along in Tivoli.

There's plenty of room for Bo—and for them to mess around after they've gone to bed, without anyone the wiser.

"So you've sold four pictures. That's almost half, which. Amazing." Lukas weights into Philip. "You might have to give up a promising career in pet care to become a famous photographer."

Philip wants to roll his eyes and tease but Lukas' praise and sincerity he knows to look for, to find, always hears, lights him up, inside out. He's in a group show, and it's an upscale gallery, but it's just a group show in an upscale Syracuse gallery.

Which is okay. It's his photos, seen and appreciated by an audience, a chic-chic art opening like he used to read about in the freebie city papers.

It is amazing.

He and Lukas have liked Syracuse. Philip is winnowing away at and almost done with his veterinarian degree—Gabe offers him insights in calls and texts and emails, puffs up whenever they're back in Tivoli, tells everyone at the college _that's my boy_ every time he and Helen visit. Philip will join Gabe's practice and eventually take over. He can't wait.

They can afford the house rental because Lukas has a good job, and is really good at it. Because Bo gives them money even though they've never asked for it, says no you need support an education is one of the most important things, so is eating right and having real furniture and something better than a futon to sleep on and more reliable than Lukas' truck to get around in. Because Helen and Gabe paid most of Philip's tuition—because when Philip tried to figure out why, tried to refuse, Gabe pulled him in for one of those all-enveloping bearhugs to say I've been saving damn near twenty years to put my kids through college, so just damn let me.

Philip had definitely cried, at that. But then, so had Helen. Naturally Gabe was a misty-eyed mess, but that was to be expected. Lukas' sniffles and watery thanks is what set him off the most. Maybe.

Lukas finished a business course and all the top-class mechanic stuff in less than two years. Wants to compete riding as long as his body will let him, combine business and top-class mechanic stuff back home.

Home, in Tivoli. Where they've talked about living at the farm—Lukas' house—and turning Gabe and Helen's into their business. Along with the quarry. And maybe beekeeping. And Philip selling baked goods at the farmer's market every weekend during the autumn.

Syracuse is smaller than New York City. Of course. It's way bigger than Tivoli. Obviously. It should be strange that Tivoli is where Philip wants life to take him next, but it's not. That's his heart—his heart is Lukas and his parents and Bo and how they fit in there and no one cares they're them, together—and he'll make sure they get to the city a lot.

It's enough. It's everything.

"Maybe I can become an animal portraitist. Combine the two."

"Oh, man. That's actually an amazing idea."

"That's because everything is amazing." Philip beams, catches Lukas' gaze taking in his lips and self and how crammed tightly together they sit. His smile changes, invites a kiss.

Lukas kisses him, hums completely besotted sounds into their mouths. Rests their foreheads together after, sighs happily.

"Everything _is_ amazing."

After a while Philip remembers they're at an event. A gallery with tons of people and art to look at. And some of that art is his. He should probably make a showing, go talk to Bo and Helen and Gabe. Let Bo talk to him about the art and trying to get it and doing pretty good at getting it, about his _Perfect Best Mud_ photo he isn't selling, because he wants to give it to Lukas later as a surprise gift. Let Gabe gush and sling an arm over his shoulders and rib at Lukas and be just so pleased at it all. Let Helen watch them with twinkling eyes. See if anything else sold.

"Ready to go back inside?"

Lukas nods.

They leave their empty glasses on the empty tray on a high table just outside the door. Philip grabs hold of Lukas' hand and Lukas' only reaction to crossing the threshold into the gallery is to squeeze and lace their fingers together. It's the best part of the whole night.


End file.
